1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to brackets for mounting license plates to vehicles and, more particularly, to a bracket adapted for clipping a license plate onto a winch that is mounted on the front or rear of an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
A winch is an apparatus consisting of a hook attached to one end of a cable that is wound around a motor-powered cylinder. Typically, it is used to free an off-road vehicle that is stuck in mud. In such a circumstance, the cable is unwound from the cylinder and wrapped around a tree. The winch motor then rewinds the cable around the cylinder thereby pulling the vehicle from the mud and toward the tree.
When a winch is mounted on either the front or rear end of a vehicle, such as a sport utility vehicle or a pick-up truck, the winch often obstructs the area of the vehicle adapted for receiving a license plate bracket. Usually, a license plate bracket is used to secure a license plate to a vehicle by first securing the license plate to the bracket and then securing the bracket to a surface on the vehicle adapted for receiving the bracket. However, for a license plate to be completely visible when a winch is present, the license plate typically must be mounted in a make-shift manner. In such circumstances, the license plate is often simply tied to the winch with either wire or twine.
Although license plate mounting devices are known in the prior art, a device for mounting a license plate to a winch is not known and, likewise, a device allowing a license plate to be easily secured to and removed from a vehicle without the aid of one or more tools in not known.
Two examples of prior art license plate brackets are provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,640 to Koch et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,645 to Gasko et al. The Koch patent discloses a license plate bracket with a horizontal base that is mounted to the underside of a bumper. The horizontal base is mounted to the bumper via one or more fasteners each of which consists of a bushing and a grommet. However, although the Koch bracket can be both mounted to and removed from a bumper without the use of tools, mounting and removing the bracket does require either assembling or disassembling the fasteners which may require extending one""s hand into an awkward position in order to reach behind the bumper and, significantly, the bracket is not suited for mounting a license plate to a winch.
The Gasko patent discloses a license plate bracket adapted for mounting to the grille of an automobile. The bracket is secured to an automobile grille via two fasteners and two hooks that extend rearward from the bracket. However, although the bracket allows a license plate to be secured on a portion of an automobile not normally suited for receiving a license plate, the use of a tool is necessary for mounting the bracket and, similar to the Koch bracket, the Gasko bracket is not suited for mounting a license plate to a winch.
Consequently, neither of the above patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed and, therefore, a device for mounting a license plate to a vehicle solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The present invention facilitates the mounting of a license plate or other decorative plate to the vertical roller guides on a winch. The device includes a frame, a back plate, eight nut and bolt assemblies, and two clips. The frame is shaped and dimensioned for receiving a standard license plate. The back plate, which is flat and the size of a license plate, is bolted into the frame. Four of the nut and bolt assemblies bolt the frame, a license plate and the back plate together with the back plate positioned behind the license plate. The remaining nut and bolt assemblies bolt the two clips to the back plate. The two clips extend from the backside of the back plate and are shaped and dimensioned to clip to the vertical guide rollers of a winch.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a device for mounting a license plate or other decorative plate to a winch that is attached to either the front or rear end of a vehicle.
It is another object of the invention to provide a device that allows a license plate to be properly displayed on a vehicle even though the area of the vehicle adapted for receiving a license plate is obstructed by a winch.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a device that allows a license plate to be easily attached to and removed from a winch, without the aid of tools, thereby providing easy access to the winch and protecting the license plate from damage resulting from contact with off-road obstacles.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a covert for the hook and cable of a winch thereby protecting them from dirt and other debris.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a clean appearance to a vehicle with a winch by hiding the hook and cable of the winch.
Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.